UC Gen-1, HEMI Programs Awarded $550,000 from Social Innovation Fund to Support First-Generation Students

UC's PASS center, housed in the

College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services

(CECH), will get $550,000  ($275,000 per year for two years) from the Social Innovation Fund to expand services for the Gen-1 Theme House and the Higher Education Mentoring Initiative (HEMI), programs that support first-generation college students and students coming from the foster care system, respectively.

UC’s Gen-1 Theme House, now in its third year, is an on-campus residence exclusively for first-generation, Pell-eligible college students, providing structure and resources to support academic achievement.  PASS Development Director Steffi Cappel says of the SIF grant, “With this support, in 2011-2012 UC will provide services for youth from minority and underrepresented populations, including up to 25 new freshmen residents, approximately 25 sophomores, and  20 to 30 juniors and seniors who are continuing as Gen-1 ‘alums’.  It will also support as many as 80 former foster youth enrolled on campus.”

The grant funds will support the specific needs of emancipated foster youth attending UC by providing a foster care liaison. In partnership with Hamilton County Job and Family Services, the Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and Great Oaks Technical and Career Institute, HEMI establishes an academic mentoring relationship beginning with youth in high school, and focuses on the preparation for education and training after graduation.

About CECH-PASS:

Partner for Achieving School Success (PASS), a center in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services at the University of Cincinnati, provides university-community partnerships and outreach programs that promote and enhance positive educational outcomes for students.

About the Social Innovation Fund

The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Social Innovation Fund (SIF) is a new approach to supporting innovative, effective community solutions along the Cradle-to-Career Continuum in Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport. The announcement of $1.7 million in grants will support more than 1,900 families and individuals in Cincinnati, Covington and Newport, to prepare their children for kindergarten, improve reading skills, graduate from high school, enroll in and complete college, and maintain stable employment.